Diversity of flowering plants in the Caatinga: an analysis of floristic and phytosociological studies

This dataset compiles information on species distribution in the Caatinga, based on 112 peer-reviewed floristic and phytosociological studies published up to December 2020. The data were organized to distinguish woody and non-woody species, assess their conservation status according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), identify the most species-rich families, and analyze species distribution across Neotropical biomes, biogeographic districts, and Holdridge life zones. The database includes 1,775 taxa identified at the species level (conservative richness estimate) and a total estimated richness of 2,978 species when unidentified specimens are also considered.The supplementary material includes five tables:Table S1. Literature reporting phytosociological or floristic surveys.Table S2. Areas where floristic and phytosociological surveys were conducted in the Caatinga.Table S3. Species list including growth form and IUCN conservation status, along with species distribution across Brazilian states, biogeographical districts, Holdridge life zones, and Neotropical biomes.Table S4. This dataset includes species occurrences recorded across all studies, including taxa not identified at the species level.Table S5. Provides the identification codes and metadata for the 131 surveyed areas used in the dendrogram and spatial analyses, including Area Code, Dendrogram Code, biogeographic district, and Holdridge life zone.These data are essential for informing local conservation policies and for supporting biodiversity assessments focused on endemic and threatened species of the Caatinga.